Are We Marked For Death?

Inspired of God
Written by Sheryl D Miller

John 12:10-11 Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus. This took place after Lazarus died & Jesus brought him back from the grave. 

     Talk about the ultimate second chance! Just by Lazarus being raised from death, brought people to salvation & following Jesus, but I believe that Lazarus became an Evangelist. The Bible doesn’t say that, but if Jesus raised me from the dead, I’d be telling everyone about Him. Hey, wait a minute; Jesus did raise me from spiritual death & eternity in Hell…

     The leading religious leaders of that day were ticked off, because people started leaving them & following the Truth. Guess the people were tired of all the ritualistic mumbo jumbo & the religious hoops they had to jump through; kinda like what some denominations are still like today. Anyway, the priest had a huge brain storm & decided to kill Lazarus along with Jesus. After all, that should have kept people from following Jesus & brought them back into religious bondage. Hellooooo, it’s been over 2000 years since Jesus’ death & people are still following Him.

     So, here’s my point – are we worthy of someone wanting to kill us to keep us quiet about Jesus? Are we marked for death by people who don’t want the Gospel spread? Do we walk through our daily lives with a death sentence from Satan? I hope that we do! That means we are doing our job telling others about Jesus’ saving grace. We are marked by the Devil as soon as we ask Jesus into our hearts. But, as soon as we get out there & really start talking & walking like followers of Jesus, Satan ups the ante. He will have opposition coming from all sides of us to discourage, dishearten, & divert our attention from Jesus to ourselves. But if we keep our focus centered on Jesus, Satan doesn’t stand a chance. Will we fall? Probably. Will we miss opportunities or open doors? Probably. Get up & go again!

     So, are we marked for death? Is there a price tag on our heads? Does the Devil get ticked off every time our feet hit the floor in the morning? Are we at the top of Satan’s hit list? I certainly hope so…

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.”

Image by Søren Niedziella

Divine Knowledge

The following image and interpretation were produced by eleven year old Akiane Kramarik.

...Only from the deep coal tunnels White diamonds come. But only by the light They are recognized...

This is the painting about search for divine knowledge…

The young sculptor represents our civilization mostly ruled by the male. His youth shows that our civilization is still immature. The sculptor is chiseling a huge heap of coal in order to find the diamond representing divine knowledge.

The sculptor ignores the pain, strain, hardship and temptation of everything surrounding him. All he focuses on is on finding this particular diamond, and he knows that if he chisels long enough through the black coal layers, representing human knowledge, he will finally see the diamond of the Supreme Knowledge.

In the background of a cave the contrast of ice and hot rocks represent the world of contrasts we live in.

The melted ice that formed a narrow stream flowing through, symbolizes humanity's thirst for knowledge that can be quenched only by the light of love.

You achieve a finish line, but realize that each step and each stroke to get there was in error.

Any great power that cannot define its strength coming from the right source is not that great, mature or just.

Our human strength has also unlimited weaknesses.

The world has too much of its own knowledge to acknowledge divine wisdom, just like hues trying to escape the royalty of the colors.

To learn what is divinely forbidden stunts growth.

We require signs from wisdom but end up holding them ourselves.

Let us agree that eleven year old girls do not produce works like this without direct influence and inspiration of God. Akiane's works are a modern miracle.  May we continue to be blessed by the Holy Spirit of the Living God - Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Follow these links to learn more of the living miracle Akiane:

Akiane's first painting of Jesus Christ:
http://forthemessage.blogspot.com/2011/07/face-of-our-lord.html

Akiane's Gallery: http://www.akiane.com/store/

HOW TO THINK ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES

By Oswald Chambers

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

     "Why should I believe a thing because it is in the Bible?"  That is a perfectly legitimate question.  There is no reason why you should believe it; it is only when the Spirit of God applies the Scriptures to the inward consciousness that a person begins to understand their living efficacy.  If we try from the outside to fit the Bible to an external standard or to a theory of verbal inspiration or any other theory, we are wrong.  "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life" (John 5:39-40).

     There is another dangerous tendency, that of closing all questions by saying, "Let us get back to the external authority of the Bible."  That attitude lacks courage and the power of the Spirit of God; it is literalism that does not produce written epistles but persons who are more or less incarnate dictionaries; it produces not saints but fossils, people without life, with none of the living reality of the Lord Jesus.  There must be the Incarnate Word and the interpreting word, that is, people whose lives back up what they preach:  "You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men" (2 Corinthians 3:2).  Only when we receive the Holy Spirit and are lifted into a total readjustment to God do the words of God become "living and powerful" to us.  The only way the words of God can be understood is by contact with the Word of God.  The connection between our Lord Himself, who is the Word, and His spoken words is so close that to divorce them is fatal.  "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).

     The Bible does not reveal all truth, we have to find out scientific truth and commonsense truth for ourselves, but knowledge of the Truth, our Lord Himself, is only possible through the reception of the Holy Spirit.  "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).  The Holy Spirit alone makes the Word of God understandable.  The regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is to incorporate us into Christ until we are living witnesses to Him.  S.D. Gordon put it well when he said, "We have the Bible bound in Morocco, bound in all kinds of beautiful leather; what we need is the Bible bound in shoe leather."  That is exactly the teaching of our Lord.  After the disciples had received the Holy Spirit, they became witnesses to Jesus, their lives spoke more eloquently than their lips:  "They realized that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4:13).  The Holy Spirit being imparted to us and expressed through us is the manifested exhibition that God can do all that His word states He can.  It is those who have received the Holy Spirit who understand the will of God and "grow up in all things into Him."  When the Scriptures are made living and powerful by the Holy Spirit, they fit every need of life.  The only Interpreter of the Scriptures is the Holy Spirit, and when we have received the Holy Spirit, we learn the first golden lesson of spiritual life which is that God reveals His will according to the state of our characters (compare Psalm 18:25-26).

Source:  Oswald Chambers, "Biblical Ethics," pg. 153-155.

THE THORNY SOIL CHRISTIAN

"He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful," (Matthew 13:22).

Thorny soil is very deceptive in outward appearance. It looks very much like good rich soil -- on the surface! However, beneath the surface are roots of weeds that grow up and choke out the new plants (spiritual revelation) trying to grow from the Word of God deposited in the heart.

There are three pulls this world has that will cause the heart to become thorny soil: (1) the lust of the flesh -- that which leads to sexual immorality, (2) the lust of the eyes--that which leads to covetousness, greed and avarice, and (3) the pride of life--that which leads to selfishness, worry, anxiety and the hardness of heart, (see 1 John 2:16). These three pulls of the world give an opportunity for four weeds to grow in the heart: worry, anxiety, busyness and bitterness. The warning stands, those that partake of these worldly pulls will be unfruitful in experiencing the benefits of the Kingdom of God.

Weeds have the ability to grow anywhere and can flourish with very little soil to support them. Weeds have no value and are quite harmful to the plants that do have value. When the Word of God is spoken, its target is the heart, will, and affections of mankind. However, man has a responsible part in the process of sowing the Word. There must be a willingness to receive into the heart, will and affections the Spoken Word, and put what is received to work in the life.

Our solution to not allowing our hearts to become thorny ground is recorded in John 21:15 and Deuteronomy 6:5. In John 21:15, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "do you truly love me more than these?" This question must be answered in the affirmative if the soil of the heart is to remain good ground for the Spoken Word. The heart must love God more than it likes to worry, or become busy even with good works. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart--not a divided heart. Yes, worry, busyness and bitterness divide the affections of the heart leaving it without a healthy root system. A heart with an infectious root system will not allow healthy Christian growth. God wants us healthy, so take a look at the solution and apply it to the life. God bless you with abundant grace for wisdom and healthy growth.

Apostle Ednorleatha Long
Christian Growth Center Church
1200 N. 41st St.
East St. Louis, IL 62204

This teaching comes from the 50-page workbook "Healthy Christian Growth"
Image Credit:  Roberto Verzo

Facts of Faith

How Great Is Our God?

Psalm 147 Amplified Bible (AMP)

1 PRAISE THE LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God, for He is gracious and lovely; praise is becoming and appropriate.

2 The Lord is building up Jerusalem; He is gathering together the exiles of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].(A)

4 He determines and counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by their names.

5 Great is our Lord and of great power; His understanding is inexhaustible and boundless.

6 The Lord lifts up the humble and downtrodden; He casts the wicked down to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praises with the harp or the lyre to our God!--

8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

9 He gives to the beast his food, and to the young ravens that for which they cry.

10 He delights not in the strength of the horse, nor does He take pleasure in the legs of a man.

11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness.(B)

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

13 For He has strengthened and made hard the bars of your gates, and He has blessed your children within you.

14 He makes peace in your borders; He fills you with the finest of the wheat.

15 He sends forth His commandment to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.

16 He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool; He scatters the hoarfrost like ashes.

17 He casts forth His ice like crumbs; who can stand before His cold?

18 He sends out His word, and melts [ice and snow]; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

19 He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.(C)

20 He has not dealt so with any [other] nation; they have not known (understood, appreciated, given heed to, and cherished) His ordinances. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)(D)

Cross references:

A. Psalm 147:3 : Ps 34:18; Isa 57:15; 61:1; Luke 4:18
B. Psalm 147:11 : Ps 145:20
C. Psalm 147:19 : Mal 4:4
D. Psalm 147:20 : Ps 79:6; Jer 10:25

He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. (John 3:30 NLT)

HOW IS YOUR HEARING?

"But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities," (Luke 5:15).

HEARING what God has to say to His people is emphasized throughout the Scriptures--Old and New. When the Lord says, "let those who have ears hear," He means to receive into our belief system the divine truth that is spoken for the purpose of acting upon it. God's Words were never to be ignored, placed in a grave of unbelief,cast aside or taken lightly. In this passage of Scripture, the multitude HEARD and came to be HEALED. In other words, they received divine truth and acted upon it. In Mark 4:24, Jesus told the disciples to be CAREFUL what you are hearing. From the Amplified version of Mark 4, we understand that we have a responsible part in the process of hearing. It is our responsibility to apply thought and study to the truth we hear. God sends divine truth to bring us into His presence where we may experience His blessings. Those that purpose to HEAR are promised a continuous flow of virtue (power) and knowledge. Remember HEAR means to take divine truth into our belief system for the purpose of agreeing with it and acting upon it. The Word of God, when heard, will bring wholeness to whatever is broken.

So, how is your hearing? Do your ears need a good cleaning in order that you may clearly and distinctly HEAR and be HEALED? Be tremendously blessed!

Your Sis,

Apostle Ednorleatha Long

photo credit vagawi